“They are adaptable, able to vary their menu, and to find shelter in shadow of the most crowded city.”

The scientist said he was certain there is a breeding population of coyotes in the Bronx, and did not rule out the possibility that dens stuffed with coyote puppies are scattered around Manhattan. They could be getting by in wooded parks or even construction sites.

City officials speculated Wednesday that the captured coyote had made its way down from Westchester County. The animals were unknown in the state less than 50 years ago, but have since moved in en masse to fill an ecological niche left by the decimated wolf population, which was hunted close to extinction.

The coyotes here are much larger than their howling cousins of the Arizona desert. They have probably been interbreeding with wolves or even domesticated dogs, said Klemens, making the eastern breed bigger and stronger.